It's not too late to save! While you'll ideally have knocked out a lot of your holiday shopping before now, there's still time if you're hunting down last-minute gift options. Right now, you can snag an Xbox Series X Digital Edition at Best Buy for $399, knocking $50 off the price of a new console!
I've worked with Windows Central for years, and while I've covered a wide range of tech and games, my biggest focus has always been on Xbox and PC gaming. With an Xbox Series X as my primary console, I'm well-versed in the best games and what players need to know when using it.
Grab a console in time for the holidays
Considering the discounts we saw over Black Friday, I wouldn't recommend buying a console at full price right now, but with $50 taken back off the price tag of the white Xbox Series X model, it's worth grabbing again.
Anyone that hasn't upgraded from their older Xbox One or PlayStation 4 has plenty of current generation-only Xbox first-party games to check out, such as Activision's Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 or Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, both of which look and play great on Microsoft's higher-end gaming console.
In my review of Indiana Jones, I wrote that "With fun exploration, dangerous puzzles, and a few twists up its sleeves, Indiana Jones and the Great Circle is sure to satisfy the cravings of anyone eager for an old-school adventure."
The list of games to enjoy is only getting bigger next year, too! 2025 is currently looked packed to the gills with Xbox games across its different publishing imprints, including first-party titles like Avowed, DOOM: The Dark Ages, South of Midnight, and The Outer Worlds 2.
Is Xbox Series X better than Xbox Series S?
With the Xbox Series X|S consoles, Microsoft opted to provide options based on what people can afford. The Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S play the exact same games, but the Xbox Series X has better graphics processing power, meaning it can play games at higher resolutions and with better visual effects and (very occasionally) at higher framerates like 120 FPS.
Is Xbox Series X backward compatible?
Microsoft has invested in industry-leading backward compatibility features, meaning your Xbox Series X can play Xbox One games as well as hundreds upon hundreds of older Xbox 360 titles, and even handfuls of original Xbox games. This means you can instantly download and play games like Dead Space 2 and Gears of War 3 on your console. Do bare in mind that a tiny handful of backward compatible games are limited to disc-only due to licensing issues (looking at you, Mortal Kombat) and so if that is a deal-breaker for you, then you'll need to get an Xbox Series X with a disc drive.
Will tariffs raise prices on Xbox consoles?
It is possible that the U.S. will start putting tariffs on foreign goods starting in 2025. Nothing is certain right now, but if this happens, you can absolutely expect the price of electronics to skyrocket, and that includes Xbox and PlayStation consoles. Something that only costs you $500 right now could cost $700 in a year. If you want to make big electronics purchases in the next several months, like grabbing an Xbox Series X, I'd suggest doing it right now.
